Chapter 84: Adventure Begins
The Białowieża Primeval Forest!
This temperate forest nature reserve in Europe is jointly protected by both the Muggle United Nations and the International Confederation of Wizards. Spanning the borders of two Muggle countries, the forest is primarily composed of evergreen and broadleaf trees and covers a vast area.
There are many magical creature sanctuaries hidden within, and due to historical complexities, numerous ancient wizarding families still occupy resource zones deep in the woods.
And these zones aren't secured in the Muggle fashion—through armed force or by drawing boundaries in mutual agreement. No, wizards rely on magic.
Think of magic like that of the Hogwarts magical castle. It's unplottable, undetectable, and those not permitted by magic to visit see nothing at all. Even if a Muggle or wizard accidentally passes by, they'd simply perceive it as an empty forest.
Such places, clearly, cannot be reached by conventional means.
Lockhart and Snape led the Duelling Club students first to the Crabbe family's ancestral home via the school's fireplace.
No sooner had they emerged from the fireplace than a disheveled, wild-looking witch rushed over, furiously grabbing Lockhart's collar and shouting.
"Where's my Vincent? Where's my poor Vincent?!!!" she cried, screaming in anger, "We sent him to Hogwarts, and you let something happen to him, and you won't even let me see him!!!"
Her eyes darted about. Before Lockhart could say anything, she looked at a bewildered Draco beside them. "Young Master Malfoy, you said you'd look after Vincent. Did you?"
Draco couldn't answer, merely puffing out his chest and gasping for air.
Just then, a portly middle-aged man, none other than old Crabbe, rushed over anxiously, shouting, "What are you doing, you crazy woman! Let go of Professor Lockhart!"
He lunged forward, forcefully embracing his wife's waist and pulling her back. Seeing her struggle like a madwoman, he quickly yelled, "Professor Lockhart is going to find a way to save Vincent this time, do you understand?!"
"Really?" the witch shrieked in surprise, her face lighting up with wild joy, transforming from anger to ecstasy in an instant. She bowed and scraped to Lockhart incessantly. "That's wonderful, wonderful, thank you so much, thank you so much! Please save my son!"
Perhaps feeling his wife was embarrassing them, old Crabbe pulled and cajoled her, whispering soothing words until she returned to the house. When he came back, he profusely apologized. "I—I'm so sorry, she's always like this. She'd die without Vincent."
Lockhart shook his head, not bothered. "If something happened to my child, I'd be more anxious than anyone."
Old Crabbe sighed. "I truly hope everything goes well for you. Otherwise, I don't know, this family." He then looked pleadingly at Snape. "Severus, for old times' sake, help them."
Snape merely gave a curt, indifferent "Hm." "Lead the way."
The method to reach the Crabbe family's Rainbow Fish farm was unique. They first arrived at a dragon statue in the backyard of the Crabbe ancestral home. Old Crabbe instructed them to touch the second-to-last tooth on the lower right side of the dragon's mouth. This was clearly a Portkey, and with a dizzying lurch, they arrived in a dilapidated, abandoned house.
The house still showed faint traces of its former glory, with some delicate, antique decorations barely discernible on the peeling walls. Old Crabbe poured a large bucket of Floo powder into the wide fireplace against the wall. Instantly, green flames erupted, crackling with golden electrical sparks. This was clearly not a regular fireplace.
He pulled out a baby-fist-sized crystal ball from his pocket and handed it to Lockhart, holding it to his own eye to demonstrate. "There, light a bonfire, look through this, and you'll see a fireplace appear."
Lockhart quickly took it, knowing it was vital not to lose it.
Just then, old Crabbe suddenly grabbed his hand, his eyes filled with hope. "You must succeed! My son… Ventson… save him!"
Lockhart sighed, nodding solemnly. "I'll do my best!"
"Crabbe—" Snape's gaze turned cold and appraising as he looked at his former colleague. "You're not coming with us?"
Old Crabbe quickly pointed to the dilapidated house's front door. " This Safe house. The magic failed. Someone needs to guard the fireplace. Only my wife, Vincent, and I are left of the Crabbe family."
Snape and Lockhart exchanged a glance. Seeing Lockhart nod, Snape pushed aside an eager Harry Potter and stepped into the green flames of the fireplace first. The flames swirled, and he quickly vanished.
"Children, follow Professor Snape. I'll go last." Lockhart called for the young wizards to enter. Of course, old Crabbe was still holding his hand, speaking flattering words and refusing to let go.
Honestly.
He had just been through a similar situation.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine. If all else fails, Professor Sprout's Mandrake can be brewed into potion to save the child," he could only offer this comfort.
Old Crabbe shook his head. "Lucius said that the Master is purging traitors and won't spare us. Six months is too long; we can't wait."
Right.
My mistake.
Lockhart felt a little bad about scaring them earlier. Old Goyle and old Crabbe seemed a bit intellectually challenged; bullying such simpletons didn't bring any pleasure. Especially seeing how much they cared for their family, it was hard not to sigh.
"Go, go," old Crabbe urged Lockhart inside, pulling out his wand and sitting on a sofa in front of the fireplace, tightly gazing towards the door. "My wife and I will guard it, waiting for you to come out."
Alright.
Lockhart was willing to trust old Crabbe, not just because of his expressed paternal love, but primarily because the Boggart clearly sensed the sincerity in old Crabbe's emotions. At least on this matter, he was reliable.
Soon, he also stepped into the fireplace. As the green flames rose, his vision flashed, and he appeared in a forest.
It must be said, the experience of using the Floo Network fireplace as transportation was far superior to Portkeys or Apparition.
He listened to the excited shouts of the young wizards, walked out of the woods, and was greeted by a wide, seemingly endless lake. Breathing in the fresh air, he felt a sense of invigorating clarity. Hogwarts had endured a seemingly endless rainy season for the past six months, so feeling this crisp, clear scenery wash over him made him feel refreshed all over.
Snape approached, wand in hand. "I've detected it. There are no other wizards here. It's safe for now."
Lockhart nodded, releasing his companions to guard the young wizards. He surveyed the surroundings and sniffed lightly. "Forget wizards, I haven't even heard the birdsong or insect chirping that a forest should have."
This was the "Forest Child's" keen perception of the forest's state.
The forest and lake before them, despite appearing to be beautiful natural scenery, felt utterly silent and grim to Lockhart. It was as if no life had ever visited, making even the lush trees and sparkling lake seem somewhat artificial.
What caused this?
He didn't know.
This was the greatest difficulty in Defense Against the Dark Arts: it wasn't simply knowing how to use Riddikulus to deal with Boggarts, or knowing how to use the Human Restoring Charm to deal with werewolves. It was about figuring out what Dark magical creature it was. After all, the Human Restoring Charm couldn't deal with a Boggart that transformed into a dragon, and Riddikulus couldn't deal with a werewolf transformed during a full moon. If you didn't know what the enemy was, sometimes Dark magical creatures could be described as unstoppable.
On this point, different Dark Arts defense experts had different methods.
Lockhart had learned from Dumbledore early on that the problem here might be a "magic cloak" of Dark magical creatures. Based on his own abilities and resources, His strategy? Face the darkness from a mental perspective. This angle was a bit unconventional, requiring specialized mental powers to combat them.
Fortunately, the helpers he brought this time had been training this power—the Patronus Charm—for a while now.
He held his wand, sensing the information transmitted by the forest, and his expression cleared. "Looks like old Crabbe will have to wait."
Snape heard his words and immediately heightened his guard, his expression tense as he monitored their surroundings. He glanced at Lockhart. "Difficult?"
Lockhart gently swayed his wand, its floating frequency mirroring the gentle breeze. He nodded. "This will likely be an extremely interesting fairy-tale adventure."
"Hmph~, fairy tale?"
Snape suddenly sneered, a hint of resistance to Lockhart mentioning this. Perhaps he too realized that by embarking on this magical path, he might no longer be able to remain in the past. He feared this; he feared that if he moved forward, he might forget the beautiful image of his beloved. He instinctively mocked, "Did you really think it was a fairy tale just now, seeing old Crabbe's desperate pleading?"
"Why not?" Lockhart replied with a smile. "At the pleading of a desperate old father, a hero embarks on an adventure with his companions. That's a common opening to a fairy-tale adventure, isn't it?"
As his words fell, he gently tapped his wand. A radiant emerald light instantly spread from the tip of his wand, swirling outwards.
Within the green light, a scene subtly emerged, similar yet entirely different from the surrounding environment. It was like using a Cleaning Charm to reveal the true painting beneath a layer of obscured paint. This landscape, enveloped in emerald light, rapidly spread outwards, soon reaching Snape's position.
He quickly dodged a tree branch that suddenly appeared above his head, stepping on ground littered with fine white bones. He frowned, looking at the faint buildings appearing at the edge of the expanding light. "What is this?"
"It's a Mind Communication Charm, a little casting trick Dumbledore taught me. And I asked the forest breeze to build a bridge of communication for us, allowing me to establish a mental link with the Dark magical creature hidden here."
"Then, I layered on some magical hallucinatory effects from the forest miasma, and so the Dark magical creature's mind world unfolded before me."
Lockhart casually explained, "Simply put, by standing next to me, you can join me on the adventure to deal with it."
He then smirked slightly, looking back at Snape. "The fairy-tale adventure begins here, Severus. Will you come along?"
"I think I need to remind you, Dark magical creatures are not like other magical creatures such as fantastic beasts. The power of Dark magic can consume the mind. Will your Patronus truly protect your soul?"
Snape snorted. "You're becoming more and more like those crazy old witches, talking too much nonsense!"
Lockhart burst out laughing, looking at the young wizards gathering around him. "Children, follow my lead!"